1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a fuse box mounting structure, such as to stably fix the fuse box to an upper portion of a battery of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a conventional fuse to be connected to a battery of a vehicle. A battery terminal 3 is connected to an end of a lead wire 4. The lead wire 4 is connected to a battery post 2 that projects from the upper surface of a battery 1 by fitting the battery terminal 3 on the battery post 2. The lead wire 4 is wired to a fuse box 5 to connect the lead wire 4 to a fuse (not shown) accommodated inside the fuse box 5.
However, in the case where a battery box 1 and a fuse box 5 are spaced distant from one another, they are connected to each other with a lead wire 4. Space for installing the fuse box 5 is additionally required. Further, when the lead wire is damaged, fusing may occur at an upstream side of the fuse.
Since the battery post 2 is approximately cylindrical, the contact portion of the battery terminal 3 disposed at the end of the lead wire 4 is also circular and the battery terminal 3 is fixedly fitted on the battery post 2. This may cause the battery terminal 3 to rotate around the battery post 2 and the lead wire to be disposed in a wrong direction. As such, the conventional art causes the operability of mounting the fuse box on a vehicle to be low.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to connect a battery fuse to a battery post without the intermediary lead wire, to accomplish space-saving and improve reliability on the electrical connection and prevent rotation of a battery terminal so that the fuse box does not turn in a wrong direction and to thereby mount the fuse box on a vehicle body with high operability.
To achieve the object, according to a first embodiment of the invention, there is provided a fuse box mounting structure for electrically connecting a battery terminal fixed to a battery post, which projects from an upper surface of a battery, to a fuse accommodated inside a fuse box which is mounted on the battery.
With this, a flat supporting plate formed by molding an insulating resin is interposed between the fuse box and the upper surface of the battery. Also, a pair of through-holes are formed on the supporting plate to insert the battery post therein. Finally, a positioning emboss portion is projected from the supporting plate to fit the emboss portion on a fit-on portion formed on a bottom wall of a case of the fuse box.
A circular arc portion of the battery terminal may be fixedly fitted on the battery post to thereby support non-rotatably the fuse box on the battery. This is accomplished by fixing the battery terminal to the battery post and by fixing the emboss portion to the fit-on portion of the bottom wall of the case of the fuse box.
Because the fuse box is directly installed on the battery box, it is possible to reduce the space needed for installing the fuse box, compared to the space for installing the fuse box required in the conventional art. Thus, it is possible to effectively utilize a limited wiring space in a vehicle body. By electrically connecting the battery fuse inside the fuse box and the battery post to each other, the circular arc portion of the battery terminal is fitted on the battery post not through the lead wire, but through the battery terminal. Thus, it is possible to also improve reliability of the electric connection.
The emboss portion of the supporting plate, through which the positive and negative battery posts have penetrated, is fitted on a fit-on portion that is formed on the case of the fuse box. Thereby the fuse box is placed in position by fixing the positive battery post to the circular arc portion of the battery terminal and by fixing the emboss portion of the supporting plate to the fit-on portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fuse box from rotating on the positive battery post and turning to a wrong direction.
Accordingly, the fuse box can be mounted on a vehicle body with high operability, and the electric wires extending from the fuse box can be connected to apparatuses with high operability.
The battery terminal is connected to the fuse housed within the fuse box. Therefore, the case of the fuse box is fixed to the battery post, and the electric wire crimped to the battery terminal is held by the case of the fuse box. As a result, the case of the fuse box is fixed to the battery post.
Because the supporting plate is separately provided, it can be used for various kinds of batteries. Since the supporting plate is directly mounted on the battery, a chemical-resistant material is used for the supporting plate.
In a second embodiment of the invention, there is provided a fuse box mounting structure for electrically connecting a battery terminal fixed to a battery post, which projects from an upper surface of a battery, to a fuse housed within a fuse box that is mounted on the battery.
With this, a flat supporting plate, formed by molding an insulating resin, is interposed between the fuse box and the upper surface of the battery. A pair of through-holes are formed on the supporting plate to insert the battery post therein. An electric wire holding clip portion is projected from the supporting plate.
A circular arc portion of the battery terminal may be fixedly fitted on the battery post to thereby support the fuse box on the battery non-rotatably by fixing the battery terminal to the battery post and by fixing the electric wire extending outside of the fuse box to the clip portion.
In the first embodiment of the invention, the emboss portion of the supporting plate was fitted on the fit-on portion of the case of the fuse box to prevent rotation. In the second embodiment of the invention, the clip portion formed on the supporting plate locks the electric wire that extends from the fuse box to prevent rotation of the fuse box.
Needless to say, it is possible to adopt the construction of the first embodiment of the invention in which the emboss portion is fitted on the fit-on portion of the case of the fuse box and the construction of the second embodiment of the invention in which the clip portion locks the electric wire.
A plurality of ribs projects from a periphery of one through-hole, formed on the supporting plate, for the positive battery post so that the ribs press against either the positive battery post or a resinous portion surrounding the positive battery post when the positive battery post is inserted into the through-hole.
With this, when the battery post is inserted through the through-hole of the supporting plate, a plurality of the ribs formed projectingly inwardly from the periphery of the through-hole are pressed against the resinous portion surrounding the battery post or the base thereof. Thus, it is possible to prevent the supporting plate from loosening.
It is preferable that a plurality of the ribs project inwardly at regular intervals from the periphery of the through-hole.
A through-hole, formed on the supporting plate, for a positive battery post is circular, whereas a through-hole for a negative battery post is elliptic.
Since the negative battery post is elliptic, it has a sufficient width. Thus, even though the distance between the positive battery post and the negative battery post varies depending on the type of battery, the difference in the distance therebetween can be taken into account. Therefore, the supporting plate is applicable to various kinds of batteries.
A bus bar is fastened to a terminal of the fuse that is accommodated inside the fuse box and the bus bar is fastened to the battery terminal. The circular arc portion of the battery terminal is exposed to the outside from an opening of the fuse box to fixedly fit the circular arc portion on the battery post.
More specifically, the bus bar is fastened to the terminal projected from the fuse with a bolt so that the bus bar and the battery terminal overlap each other. The bus bar and the battery terminal circular arc are accommodated within the case of the fuse box. The circular arc portion of the battery terminal is fitted on the battery post and fastened by a bolt and nut. One end of the bus bar overlaps a pair of fastening pieces that project from both ends of the opening of the circular arc portion of the battery terminal, and fasten the bus bar to the battery terminal. That is, by fastening the battery terminal to the battery post, the fuse box is fixed to the battery.